Process for the production of canals



Jun 21 1921. 1,632,946

V. BRUNIG PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CANALS Filed March 11, 1925 Patented June 21, 1927.

VICTOR BR'U'N IG, 0F BERLIN-GRUNEWALD, GERMANY.

PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CANALS.

' Appfication filed March 11, 1925. Serial No. 14,751.

I-Ieretofore, canals, particularly ship canals and improvement or drainage canals in bogs and swamps, were produced by manual labor by means of digging onthe like. However, that manner of working is often impossible and in any case very expensive and tedious.

For such working there are required many laborers who are very often diflicult to ob tain and the work requires years for the practical completion: of along canal.

The present known dry and wet dredging or pumping apparatus as used for building harbor works and channels, particularly in marshy districts are also not suitable, because the wet material pumps and dredges cannot handle thie k,-heavy.- boggy material,

' being only suitable and eflicient when the material being dealt with, is almost wholly water. The "dry material dredgers have great labor costs and also often require tracks or trails on which-to move the heavy machinery of which they are composed. It is often necessary to preliminarily remove much water. It often also-happens that these less efficient and heavy machines sink in the yieldable ground or often when set up on or near the site being worked, fall into the bed of the canal. In addition, the material dug or dredged out must often be removed by means of special. transporting apparatus at relatively high cost.

' A purpose of'this invention is to carry away the soil in which the'canal isbeing built witha minimum ofwater, power, expensev and labor. 5 Thesepartieular defects are overcome by the present invention, which. by means of its great efficiency, permits of making long canals, even in uninhabited and inaccessible regions, at relatively slight labor costs and in short periods of time.

. The object of the present process is an essential reduction in the cost and simplification in the work, and comprises an entirely different and novel-metl1od.- The. characteristic features of the process consist in that the material in the futurev canal bed is separated from the material which is to remain permanently in place either by a stream or streams of high pressure water or by explosive means, and such material is then mixed with water at little or no pressure by means of the high pressure stream, while the place of operating is maintained separated from the completed portion of the canal, for the purpose of making the mixtureof earth and water exactly suitable for pumping by a suitable pumping apparatus, which apparatus forces the mixture away by any forming conveying means such as pipes, ditches, wagons, boats, or the like,

either. directlyor indirectly to the place desired;

In the. use of the present process, the removed material can also be conveyed to any desired point, for example, it may beutilized for fillingin depressions in the earth, or in any other manner. The removed material, alone or in admixture with other material may also be used for making thecanal banks or for other building purposes, the

removed material being in general, rich in peaty matter so that it may be compressed, alone or in admixturewith other substances into artificial lumber or wall boards. The process can be carried out in different ways, accordingto conditions that are met, or dependent on the character of the material in which the canal is being built, dimensions of the canal and direction thereof, use of the removed material, etc;

In the drawings there is shown an exemplary embodiment of the process and Fig. I represents a fragmentary, diagrammatic, longitudinal section of a canal during construction, employing the process of this invention:

Fig. 11 is a similar plan view of'Fig. I; and

Fig. III is a plan view showing the use of a plurality of installations simultaneously employed in forming a canal.

which operat-eat both sides, at the head of the canal bed which is being formed, and

the suction pump apparatus is shown at 3 in the bed of the canal.

The material being removed is conducted through a flexible or jointed pipe or conduit 10' from the pump 3 to the point at which it is to be. deposited. The water which is put under pressure is preferably carried oif from that part of the canal already completed, but

it may also be obtained from wells or other sources. The point at which the water is removed ,is designatedihyaii in Figs. 1,111 and --1'III. The water piessu-i'e lpump 16 (Lbtaining Water from point 5 forces this water I under great pressurethlfflugh the pipe 7' t o necessary.

ifrom the already ICQIIIPlQtQd canal forces a manifold 8 andflonl'S byfleXible"hose'9 to the nozzles 1 and 2. The-number-ofthese nozzles may be as great as desired or iound A low pressure pump 12 obtaining water water 5 into the work ;place to {be there cmixed itel'ial which is {to be aearried away. flihis additional water eanwalso ibe :taken out f ithc completed canal :and :be conducted through pasmgesior'openings. SOEimtheJgateS :15 in-such .Wise thatzthe quantityiofitheiafldh tional water can be regulated. No matter in which manner'theadditional-water is-supiplied the emountis completely!r-egulatable so that little, much O1'HO additional Water at all is udded :to rthe mixture, :the purpose of 3 atbe added water being touegul ate :the =mo1sgture 1 content .of zthe ifinal .pumpahle :m'ixture.

7 rthe barge.

.dii'om this :plant.

i iedyas shown, on aibarge 7111,4111 pumpsrand other apparatus being supplied with :power The pumps 3 :may :be cari ied iby :moyzible cranes ior dBlfLiCkS "l4 alocated -ationeient1 of :and ithel cranes 14 support the pumps 3 over and beyond the temporary removable :walls "01": gates :15. 'The iwalls ior-gates "1'5 are placed from time to time, across the canal channel :as shown in the :figures, and serve to keep the iwat-er inthe :eompleted paet of uthe canal away firomitheiwoiqkrundeiwopeiawtion;

instead of walls wand gates #15, dikes or dams of; earth 15 ma be used tose panate ithe completed part ithe canal [from the working part. These dams or dikesg'can ilater when :the :WOlk e'is -suili'ciently iPI'O- igi'essed, be readily memoved either by expl'osive means or also :by luse :of the high pressure vnozzles.

The addition of a regulated "amount of water is of particular importance since if the water was Fto "flow without regulation to V wthenemoved material, the mesult would not be suecesfiul. An essential featune 01f ithe JPI'QGGSS is the separation of the completed ipairt of the canal from 'the *place under yean the desired u'esu'lt be attained.

openation, so ;that thearemovedmmatenial :can be worked up in the idesinetlimanner-iand:to the :proper consistency with ithe 1W2lt8l l1l1d8lf high \PBQSSlglIIG and rtheadditional negwlating water. Only by means of :thisseparation In EFi g. Hit-here isvilzhshratsd :a-n pamtange- The :barge itself floatsin the -wate1' of the completed part of itheweanal,

nozzles and pumps 3 are simultaneously employed along the canal site. Aplurality of iinstallations'may alsotbezpl'aeedisideby side; With longidistances between the'points at WhiChthe water to the pressure pumps is being .removedand the .nozzles which are tearing downthe earthfit may become desir- I,able ,to ,inte 'pose one or more low pressure pumps in the pipes 7 1n order to maintain itheineeessazyzpressure.

The mass drawn up by the suction pumps 0 may :be canned .aaway xthrough [flexible o1- ijointed movable :pipe -lines1116, laterally (to 7 -one oi'zboth sides 'of rthe eanalnandithem depositedlthmugh:outletszin :the pipe 18. Ohwiously zthe mass can the married off iin :any

:desi-redmanner, for instance, as shown in lEig. iI-II :where :a fSlEUOlld "barge 20 :is illus- 'trated linto ,which tthe smass iisipoured rt-oabe transportedweither by means ofiit, 1.or outaof which :barge; it may, byuany desireifl:inanner,

qbeznemoved out:of,-it atany desired-location. ZIn iFigs. I and :II: the imowableipoittioniof gates 115 by \Whiiih tthe amount of \water flowring nil-om vthe eompletedipart df ithe f'CflIlfllTtO atlie woik place, is regulated, iissh'own v:at 30.

v'ieteeording totheipartieulan conditions the suction pump and :othei' rmachines 'tOI' :paiits :of ithe same may ialso The iplaced above wthe canal 1bed,'*for exam-ple between ithe nozzles i1 :and 2 :or iialong the iside zozf 'thefleanal esite.

Where ":the S0il':0I", II1at8Ilfll :in which {the icanal is ltO be dug very ."dense, lexplosives or mechanical means unay "be used in =addi-,

Etion :tor'the'high pressure water for sepaiatling :the material which is to be ar'emoved from that which is ito :remiain. *Similan'ly mechanical means may "alsoihe uxsed to! assist in .the working up of the imass pump'able condition.

structing eanals \in any hamdter 16f" soil. Hav ing thus deseribefl my imention wvhat Iidesii-e to claim is:

i 1. .A -pr0eess "far building shi g 1 and similar canals, which comprisesssepmt;

"ing, in a wofking "place, 'the u nfiteria l which is to he removed from that which is tourema1n by means of *water :under pressure,

The present \proeess -is adapted *ifor crmmixing cthe separated material in anywdesired 5 manner with watercf exceedingly ,low *preswrating, fill a wmfkingfzpluaee, the material 2 which is to he removed from that'zwhinhzis of water, :mixing the separated vmaterizfl "in any Idesimed seminar with water -mrE eexceedment wherebyiarpluralityiofiinstaillations'iofingly 310w xipuzessure by means of dzherrh-igh 9 pressure water in the working place, completely separating the working place from the completed part of the canal, pumping the resulting mixture out of the working place and conveying it to a desired locality.

3. A process for buildingship, drainage, and similar canals, which comprises separating, in a working place, the material which is to be removed from that which is to remain by means of water under pressure, mixing the material in any desired manner with the high pressure water in the working place, completely separating the working place from the completed part of the canal, pumping the resulting mixture out of the working place and conveying it to a desired locality.

4. A process for building ship, drainage, and similar canals, which comprises separating, in a working place, the material which is to be removed from that which is to remain by means of water under pressure assisted by explosive means, mixing the material in any desired manner with water of exceedingly low pressure by means of the high pressure water in the working place, completely separating the working place from the completed part of the canal, pumping the resulting mixture out of the working place and conveying it to a desired locality.

5. A process for building ship, drainage, and similar canals, which comprises separating, in a working place, the material which is to be removed from that which is to assisted by mechanical means, mixing the material in any desired manner with water of exceedingly low pressure by means of the high pressure Water in the working place, completely separating the working place from the completed part of the canal, pumping the mass out of the working place and conveying it to a desired locality.

6. A process for building ship, drainage, and similar canals, which comprises separating, in a working place, the material which is to be removed from that which is to remain, working up the material to be removed with Water to render it pumpable, maintaining the material being workedup completely separate from the completed part of the canal, and then pumping out the resulting mixture from the working place and conveying it to a desired locality.

7 A process for building ship, drainage, and similar canals, comprising, washing away material to be removed by water jets in a working place, and separating in a substantially water tight manner, the working place from an adjacent finished portion of the canal. I

8. A process for building ship, drainage, and similar canals, comprising, washing away material to be removed by water jets in a working place, and completely separating the working place from the finished portion of the canal by a substantially water tight wall.

In testimony whereof I name to this specification.

VICTOR BRUNIG.

have signed my 

